Chris Cusack
@fearfuljoycuit.bsky.social
Reader | writer | teacher. Been there, done that, got the T. rex.🦖 Researching death, famine, and apocalypse. Irish Studies and beyond. Reviews books. Also writing about Moomins, because why not. Asst Prof at Radboud University, NL. He/him.
Pinned
Chris Cusack
@fearfuljoycuit.bsky.social
· Dec 30
Out in February from @livunipress.bsky.social: The Corpse in Modern Irish Literature. The book started as a lockdown tweet. Delighted that it’s finally done! With Bridget English and @drreznicek.bsky.social
Reposted by Chris Cusack
Fans of early 19th century Irish history! Gather round! We have a lovely event on @ullibrary.bsky.social on 22 Jan (next week) on the world behind the Ordnance Survey maps - free and all are most welcome. Just book your place via this link & tell your friends! forms.office.com/pages/respon...
January 13, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Fans of early 19th century Irish history! Gather round! We have a lovely event on @ullibrary.bsky.social on 22 Jan (next week) on the world behind the Ordnance Survey maps - free and all are most welcome. Just book your place via this link & tell your friends! forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Reposted by Chris Cusack
Putting it out there!
Nebulous fantasy chat last summer about me and @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social doing summat together at that end if the stars were ever to be favourably aligned. Would love. Never been to Ireland and always wanted to visit cos my grandad Paddy's lot were from Mayo and looks gorgeous
January 17, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Putting it out there!
WELL HELLO THERE
January 16, 2026 at 6:51 PM
WELL HELLO THERE
Reposted by Chris Cusack
I miss the days when expensive academic books were at least well-made, rather than crappy print-on-demand units that have weak bindings, use terrible paper, and smell weird.
January 9, 2026 at 9:29 AM
I miss the days when expensive academic books were at least well-made, rather than crappy print-on-demand units that have weak bindings, use terrible paper, and smell weird.
Reposted by Chris Cusack
Wil je promoveren op jongeren die wél lezen in tijden van digitalisering en ontlezing? Ik zoek twee promovendi binnen mijn Vidi-project 'Anatomy of the #Bookish'! Solliciteren kan tot 1 maart.
www.ru.nl/werken-bij/v...
www.ru.nl/werken-bij/v...
Promovendus: literaire cultuur onder jongeren | Radboud Universiteit
Als Promovendus in literaire cultuur onder jongeren werken bij Faculteit der Letteren? Bekijk hier de vacature!
www.ru.nl
January 9, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Wil je promoveren op jongeren die wél lezen in tijden van digitalisering en ontlezing? Ik zoek twee promovendi binnen mijn Vidi-project 'Anatomy of the #Bookish'! Solliciteren kan tot 1 maart.
www.ru.nl/werken-bij/v...
www.ru.nl/werken-bij/v...
Reposted by Chris Cusack
🗃️ Time to rewrite immigration history with Native history in mind. The US was founded on the conquest, dispossession, removal, exploitation, or genocide of Native people. Denial of that fact generated counter-myths: empty land, waste land, Manifest Destiny—and the slogan “nation of immigrants.” 🧵1/7
January 9, 2026 at 4:21 PM
🗃️ Time to rewrite immigration history with Native history in mind. The US was founded on the conquest, dispossession, removal, exploitation, or genocide of Native people. Denial of that fact generated counter-myths: empty land, waste land, Manifest Destiny—and the slogan “nation of immigrants.” 🧵1/7
I miss the days when expensive academic books were at least well-made, rather than crappy print-on-demand units that have weak bindings, use terrible paper, and smell weird.
January 9, 2026 at 9:29 AM
I miss the days when expensive academic books were at least well-made, rather than crappy print-on-demand units that have weak bindings, use terrible paper, and smell weird.
Reposted by Chris Cusack
English academic friends: @deborahlam.bsky.social and I have been gushing to each other about how much we love THE POCKET INSTRUCTOR for teaching inspo. are there any other good teaching exercise collections out there that we've been sleeping on? i have Showalter and Collier
January 7, 2026 at 9:49 PM
English academic friends: @deborahlam.bsky.social and I have been gushing to each other about how much we love THE POCKET INSTRUCTOR for teaching inspo. are there any other good teaching exercise collections out there that we've been sleeping on? i have Showalter and Collier
Reposted by Chris Cusack
David Bowie would have been 79 today. Here’s something I wrote about him back when he was 65. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v3...
Thomas Jones · So Ordinary, So Glamorous: Eternal Bowie
The cliché is to call Bowie a chameleon, but he was more like the very hungry caterpillar, munching his way through...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 1:41 PM
David Bowie would have been 79 today. Here’s something I wrote about him back when he was 65. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v3...
Reposted by Chris Cusack
We are delighted that Catriona Kennedy will give the @ssnci.bsky.social annual lecture on 'Women & Irish politics in the age of revolution'!! It will be held @nlireland.bsky.social on 22 January. For more see
www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
Amazon, aristocrat or democrat?
Women and Irish politics in the age of revolution
www.nli.ie
January 6, 2026 at 3:48 PM
We are delighted that Catriona Kennedy will give the @ssnci.bsky.social annual lecture on 'Women & Irish politics in the age of revolution'!! It will be held @nlireland.bsky.social on 22 January. For more see
www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
Reposted by Chris Cusack
One of the best literary journals anywhere, outside and in, is @winterpapers.bsky.social. Their open submissions period for the 2026 issue is 14-28 February. Everything will be read and replied to early August. The editing is excellent: acute & sympathetic. Have a go! winterpapers.com/submissions
Winter Papers Submissions
winterpapers.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:17 PM
One of the best literary journals anywhere, outside and in, is @winterpapers.bsky.social. Their open submissions period for the 2026 issue is 14-28 February. Everything will be read and replied to early August. The editing is excellent: acute & sympathetic. Have a go! winterpapers.com/submissions
Finalising the syllabus tomorrow. Give me all your suggestions!
Because of budget cut mathing, my course on the apocalypse will go from seven 3-hour seminars to twelve 2-hour seminars. Which 21st-century books, films, series should I definitely include? Particularly looking for a replacement for Good Omens that engages equally explicitly with Revelation.
January 7, 2026 at 11:32 PM
Finalising the syllabus tomorrow. Give me all your suggestions!
It's terrifying just how swiftly search engines have become completely unusable. Just layer upon layer of AI shite.
January 7, 2026 at 3:39 PM
It's terrifying just how swiftly search engines have become completely unusable. Just layer upon layer of AI shite.
Been considering for years to refocus my research, just so I can spend a few weeks at the CCI!
Our good friends at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris are advertising a short-term research fellowship in their old library and historical archives. Check it out at portail.centreculturelirlandais.com/index.php?lv...
January 7, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Been considering for years to refocus my research, just so I can spend a few weeks at the CCI!
Reposted by Chris Cusack
We are delighted to announce that we'll be hosting the SSNCI conference in Maynooth next June. Call for papers attached. Please spread far and wide!
December 8, 2025 at 8:52 AM
We are delighted to announce that we'll be hosting the SSNCI conference in Maynooth next June. Call for papers attached. Please spread far and wide!
Reposted by Chris Cusack
Barnabe Rich explaining that "bookes are like cheese"
January 6, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Barnabe Rich explaining that "bookes are like cheese"
Please help me, Bluesky!
Because of budget cut mathing, my course on the apocalypse will go from seven 3-hour seminars to twelve 2-hour seminars. Which 21st-century books, films, series should I definitely include? Particularly looking for a replacement for Good Omens that engages equally explicitly with Revelation.
January 6, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Please help me, Bluesky!
One of the 10 or so articles I really want to write but just don’t have time for is about Moby-Dick. It truly is a splendid thing. Also, its longueurs are absolutely essential to its overall effect.
people think moby dick is a stern adventure novel heavy on the plot. i can't emphasize how much it's not. it's supergay chaos with 3 plot points. there's an entire chapter that's just a chowder recipe. sometimes it turns into a play. the main character is covered in whale dinension tattoos.
finally reading moby dick. why didn't anyone tell me that it's good
January 5, 2026 at 10:48 PM
One of the 10 or so articles I really want to write but just don’t have time for is about Moby-Dick. It truly is a splendid thing. Also, its longueurs are absolutely essential to its overall effect.
Because of budget cut mathing, my course on the apocalypse will go from seven 3-hour seminars to twelve 2-hour seminars. Which 21st-century books, films, series should I definitely include? Particularly looking for a replacement for Good Omens that engages equally explicitly with Revelation.
January 5, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Because of budget cut mathing, my course on the apocalypse will go from seven 3-hour seminars to twelve 2-hour seminars. Which 21st-century books, films, series should I definitely include? Particularly looking for a replacement for Good Omens that engages equally explicitly with Revelation.
This was excellent – just my kind of book. I knew some of Tanning’s art, but had no idea she could write as well as paint. I bought it on the strength of it being a Virago Modern Classic, and as usual that label delivered the goods.
January 5, 2026 at 9:38 AM
This was excellent – just my kind of book. I knew some of Tanning’s art, but had no idea she could write as well as paint. I bought it on the strength of it being a Virago Modern Classic, and as usual that label delivered the goods.
Enjoyed the first few pages. Looking forward to reading the full thing!
Looking for a lunch-time read?
@hodderscape.bsky.social are sharing an exclusive extract of SISTER WAKE, my anti-colonial Irish kaiju epic fantasy. I've been working on this book since 2020 and I'm beyond excited for you to read it...
hodderscape.co.uk/blogs/exclus...
@hodderscape.bsky.social are sharing an exclusive extract of SISTER WAKE, my anti-colonial Irish kaiju epic fantasy. I've been working on this book since 2020 and I'm beyond excited for you to read it...
hodderscape.co.uk/blogs/exclus...
Sister Wake Exclusive Extract
Read an exclusive extract of Sister Wake, first in a high fantasy trilogy, inspired by Ireland's history of English oppression from Irish author Dave Rudden.
hodderscape.co.uk
January 4, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Enjoyed the first few pages. Looking forward to reading the full thing!
Reposted by Chris Cusack
today’s entry in Things Lincoln Didn’t Say
January 2, 2026 at 11:08 PM
today’s entry in Things Lincoln Didn’t Say
Reposted by Chris Cusack
In what's now become an annual tradition, I've written another piece for The Gist about how and why I hate A.I.
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
Guest Gist: 2026, Our Already Rotting Future
Seamus O'Reilly warns of AI maximum bubbledrive this year.
www.thegist.ie
January 2, 2026 at 10:25 AM
In what's now become an annual tradition, I've written another piece for The Gist about how and why I hate A.I.
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...